Marine Electronics

Handbearing Compasses: Plastimo Iris

One of the most time-consuming chores at Practical Sailor is finding, selecting and assembling the products to be tested. Even before we figure out...

Standard HX350S Is Top-Rated Waterproof Handheld VHF Radio

Waterproof VHF handheld radios just make sense. For many of us, they are only used during emergencies. Making them waterproof for the marine environment...

ChartView Edges MaxSea in Nav Software Matchup

Charting/navigation software for laptop computers are extremely powerful, although not every program does exactly the same things in the same way. Navigation software can...

Cabin Fan Test: Hella, Caframo Blow Best Breeze for the Buck

There are lots of things that can make being aboard a boat unpleasant. Among them: Too little wind, seasickness, crowded waterways, rain, guests with...

Offshore Log: An Evolution in EPIRBs

Sailing shorthanded makes you think a lot about safety. Even after you develop confidence in your boats ability to take what the ocean hands...

Spare Parts

Kenyon InstrumentsReader Ernie Copp owns some old Kenyon instruments. The company has long been out of business. Following his successful search to find someone...

Battery Power Packs: Are They Too Good to Be True?

The etymology of the word blivit is questionable. A clean way to describe this term is stuffing 2 pounds of material into a 1-pound...

GPS 406 MHz EPIRBs: ACR vs. NAT

The prime electronic rescue device has for many years been the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon).The original concept of the EPIRB was a...

Top 10 Products for 1999

Choosing the best gear for sailboats isn't easy. But at Practical Sailor were used to doing just that. The job is easiest when empirical...

Battery Power Packs: Are They Too Good to Be True?

The etymology of the word blivit is questionable. A clean way to describe this term is stuffing 2 pounds of material into a 1-pound...

The Great Loop – The Basics

Join us this week as we discuss taking a sailboat around North America's great boating adventure - The Great Loop. We discuss advice from...
Tartan 30 Boat Review video from Practical Sailor

Tartan 30 | Boat Review